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The iPhone and Google's upcoming Android platform are shaking up the wireless industry, according to report released yesterday by In-Stat Analyst Bill Hughes . In an interview, Hughes supported his conclusions with two theories: First, he said Google is primarily using Android to push its agenda of doing location-based search, and second, the two Bay Area companies are implementing change by marketing and merchandising better, not developing more advanced technology. The statements become even more interesting when juxtaposed with two public knocks made recently against Google ( NSDQ: GOOG ). In the last week or so, Android developers have become disheartened by the amount of support they are getting from Google, and Sprint made comments questioning its ability to address industry fundamentals. -- On Google's presence in mobile: Hughes said that Google's interest in mobile relates to its desire to get into location-based search. Because the wireless industry can move slowly, Google needed leverage, which is why it is developing Android ( It took a similar approach in the spectrum auction. ) "No one is talking about that, but the whole premise and business model behind Android is to be able to do location-aware search." So far, the focus has been on the Android software and on the devices, but the technology isn't a lot different from what's already out there, he said. "If you look at things purely from a technology standpoint, there's no reason for Google to bother with Android. They are getting involved because from what they've seen is that this market moves at glacial pace...I don't believe publicly held companies do things for purely altruistic reasons, but I would reason, that this is an effective way to do that. Location-aware searches are hugely profitable venture for many, many organizations." -- On Google using Android to push location aware: Hughes says because of Android, Google has some leverage, and is...

-- Text Pics To Search: 23half said today that its so-called Thrrum MMS Search is available to Sprint ( NYSE: S ) wireless subscribers, which allows them to find information on something by taking a picture of it and text it up to m@thrrum.com. Search results are then sent back to the users' phones. The beta service is free to Sprint users. Common things that people can take a picture of are: a book, a product label, or any printed material. -- Store Address Book Info In One Place: San Jose-based FusionOne said today that its network address book allows people to globally access and manage their address books, including email accounts, mobile phones, IM accounts and social networks. FusionOne said all of those can be managed through a single interface that updates the various accounts automatically. The system will also work with landlines. Embarq will be the first company to use the service. -- TXT To See For Sale Info: Seattle-based startup Knovolo said today that it is launching a text-messaging product for real estate agents and home sellers. A person walking by a house for sale, can send a text message, and get a link back that takes the person to a mobile Web version of the property listing. The service is free to user, except for data-related charges. Knovolo charges the real estate agent a a flat fee for each listing, which includes the text message creation, keyword registration and mobile Web design and publishing. It also includes a sign to be displayed at the property. The sign says: "For more information, text 'a designated code' to 732589." -- Loopt On Blackberry: Loopt, a social network and mapping service, said today its service is now available for free to BlackBerry users on the Sprint, Alltel ( NYSE: AT ), T-Mobile and AT&T ( NYSE: T ) networks, allowing BlackBerry users to share their location with friends across multiple carriers. Loopt shows users where other people are located and waht they are doing to help people connect...

It's a big news day for Vodafone ( NYSE: VOD ). First, it announced its CEO Arun Sarin will step down and then it reported stellar earnings . Now, there's also a report by the Financial Times that quotes multiple sources as saying that Vodafone will make several acquisitions as a way to beef up its mobile Internet services. The spending spree started this month when Vodafone agreed to pay $48.7 million for Zyb, a Danish social networking company. The article reported that the scale of acquisitions will remain relatively small, and that valuations will be similar to Zyb, according to two people familiar with the situation. Leading Vodafone's new Internet services group is Pieter Knook, who recently left Microsoft's ( NSDQ: MSFT ) Windows Mobile division. The article laid a pretty compelling argument for why Vodafone should be aggressively pursuing this strategy. It noted both Nokia ( NYSE: NOK ), which is midway through launching its own services initiative called Ovi, and Google ( NSDQ: GOOG ), which is also beefing up its mobile stragedy with a several pronged approach. There's additional incentive in the form of revenues. The company reported today that year-end data revenues are up 35.7 percent to $4.3 billion, rising from $2.7 billion a year ago. If this is the case, the next logical question to ask is what will Vodafone buy? Will it follow Nokia's lead by purchasing a mapping company, like Navteq, or a media-sharing company such as Nokia's purchase of Twango? Or will it go in a slightly different direction, and go head-to-head with Google, to play in the mobile search and advertising business? Either way, there's plenty of companies to buy, so I'm sure Vodafone will be busy evaluating its options. Register for our EconAds seminar , June 3rd, at the New World Stages in New York City. Covering the economics of online advertising.

Japan's KDDI will launch visual search on its Spring 2008 au line of cameraphone, and will make the application available for download to current customers with an au cameraphone. Visual search allows people to take pictures of things with their cameraphone and get content based on the image—sometimes referred to as hyperlinking the physical world. The service is run by Bandai Networks and dubbed ER Search (the technology is from Evolution Robotics)—Bandai has already put the service on more than a million handsets last year, and the deal with KDDI is expected to increase the user base dramatically. The business model isn't specified, but it probably involves referral fees when people view product information or buy something after using the service. ( release ) Related Japan's Mobile Music Scene: Bandai Adds Image Search To Cameraphones AT&T Supporting Visual Search Marketing Service To Make Traditional Ads Interactive Visual Mobile Search Captures Eyeballs And Imagination

-- Mom's Luv 2 Txt: The Washington Post has an interesting story today about how parents are the fastest growing demographic of text messaging, as they are forced to communicate in a way that their children know. Sprint ( NYSE: S ) Nextel said teens and adults ages 40 to 50 were the most active text-message users in the year ended June 2007, and mothers were the ones leading the way. What the story didn't touch on was how this creates an opportunity for companies to now target this demographic with text messages, a medium long-thought to be limited to teens. -- New 411 service on 4/11: San Diego-based V-ENABLE is launching FreeMobile411.com, a WAP-based directory assistance for business and people searches on your phone. The service launches today (4/11), which they are dubbing the 1st Annual 411 Day. They claim the twist on this service is that the user will have the option to talk to a live person. Since that service costs standard 411 rates, I'm not sure why you'd bother to go to a WAP site first and then connect to an operator, when you can just dial 411 from the start? There's also a lot of competition in this space. Jingle Networks, the 1-800-FREE-411 service provider, has reportedly raised $13 million in a third round of funding, and not to mention more phones have Web access, allowing them to get the phone number directly from a company's Web site. -- Nike's Running App Soon On iPhone: Nike will soon offer its Nike+ running application for the iPhone and iPod Touch, expanding past its previous offering on the iPod nano, reports stuff.tv . This time, the link between the shoe module and the device will be using Wi-Fi, and likely soon 3G. Going live today is the Nike+ Coach application that helps you train for various races. As stuff.tv points out, this is attempting to match the Adidas' miCoach system, launched by Samsung.

Two years ago at CTIA, only a few companies would even mumble the words "mobile advertising," but now it's apart of everyone's vernacular. Truthfully, that makes it a lot more difficult to weed through the announcements to see what is real and what is not. The skeptics say mobile advertising is in its infancy because no meaningful revenues are being made on it compared to the broader advertising market and the proponents are saying that it will be a huge success if you give it time. Here's a few advertising tidbits from this year's CTIA: -- Vodafone: The company's CEO Arun Sarin covered a ton of subjects in his keynote, but I bet a lot of people missed his one-sentence comment on the mobile advertising business. He said they are exploring the idea of sharing advertising revenues with their customers through a brand campaign involving a customer's demographics. I asked Yahoo ( NSDQ: YHOO ) about this since they are Vodafone's ( NYSE: VOD ) advertising and search partner in the U.K. Yahoo uses demographics there, including age, location and gender, to better place ads. But as far as returning some of that revenue to subscribers, whether it's cheaper apps, or more minutes, who knows? Yahoo's VP of mobile advertisers and publishers Gary Roshak, said: "That's the first time I've heard that." -- Virgin Mobile ( NYSE: VM ) USA: I had a few minutes to talk to Sir Richard Branson before he went on stage to deliver an interesting keynote at CTIA that covered everything from his ventures in the airplane and train business to an April's Fool joke. Since he doesn't play a heavy role in the mobile business, he didn't have much to share on the topic, except for one thing: price. He was acutely aware of people's limited spending budgets, and how wireless needs to be affordable. To that end, I asked for an update on Sugar Mama, Virgin's advertising program that awards free minutes for watching ads. They...